NASCAR's Most Popular, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Fails to Qualify for the Chase

In a race that came down to the wire, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was mathematically removed from reaching the NASCAR Chase for the Championship with twenty laps remaining, as Kevin Harvick clinched the final and twelfth spot. Running hard throughout the entire race, Dale, Jr. upheld his promise to fans that he would do everything possible to reach the Chase, after a season that included multiple DNFs and the very hard decision to change racing teams for the upcoming 2008 season.

Unfortunately, in a further heartbreak for the DEI team, Dale, Jr's car blew an engine with just six laps remaining, adding yet another blown engine to the roster of failures for this season. The number 8 has suffered six DNFs to date in the 2007 season, five due to blown engines.

In a post-race interview coordinated by ABC and ESPN, Jr. remarked that his team was "running in the top five every week" but they were just having problems finishing races with these "dang motors". Cousin and crew-chief Tony Eury, Jr. swept him into an affectionate huge mid-interview, even as Richmond race winner Jimmy Johnson was performing donuts as he celebrated his second win at that track this year.

Although Dale, Jr. will not be a part of the top twelve who compete in the Chase for the Championship, he will still look to end his winless race streak, which currently stands at over fifty. His last win came at Richmond, where he dominated in the May 2006 race at a track where he has had a total of three wins in Nextel Cup Racing.

The season will continue to Loudon, New Hampshire, for the first race of the ten-race Race for the Championship. The top twelve drivers will each be re-leveled to 5000 points a piece, with an additional ten points awarded for each win achieved during the first twenty-six races of the 2007 season.

As Dale, Jr. enters his popular number 8 in his last ten races with Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated, he says that his team still has "more work to do" in the 2007 season. For this perennial fan favorite, a last win in the 8 would be nostalgic and well-celebrated. Before moving to Hendrick Motorsports in the 2008 season, where he will join a stable that includes Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson, several huge races may yet bring a final victory to the Budweiser Chevrolet.

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2007 Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Live Coverage courtesy ABC and ESPN.